Clifford Stoll & Computers in Education

05May

Clifford Stoll – what a truly fascinating man! Have you heard of him? I stumbled across a TED talk by Clifford Stoll this afternoon. He was inspirational. Every cell in his body oozed enthusiasm for sharing with his audience. I was drawn to what he had to say.

In his TED talk he mentioned briefly that he was against the push for more technology in the classroom. Well that got a reaction from me. I was all ears. You see, I’m of the same thinking and I’ll admit that I often feel like the lone voice in the wilderness on this one.

Ironically, I googled around to learn more about what Clifford Stoll had to say on the topic. I found this 1996 talk that he gave about technology. While very dated, and somewhat proven incorrect, I believe the heart of what Clifford wanted to share with us was still true – yes, technology is a useful tool but it has its price. Before we embrace it wholehearted without question, particularly where our children are concerned, we need to consider the price, the sacrifice, the loss. And there is one.

Since an hour or so of watching Clifford Stoll bounce around and deliver his talk, is not nearly enough, I hunted further and found one last video. This one is a little more current (2004) and seems to suggest a personal swing away from technology all together. I’d be curious to know if he’s found a workable medium with technology in 2013 or whether he still advocates a total avoidance, particularly for children.

I certainly don’t hate technology. I embrace many elements of it. My criticism is towards the push to include more technology in schools as the answer to the failing education system. Ipads and interactive online lessons as the solution to unmotivated students. Laptops and educational apps as the key to teacher job satisfaction. Really?! Clifford Stoll believes these things are just one more thing that stand between the teacher and the student; distancing the student from a mentor who could inspire them to greatness..well assuming you had a great teacher. Perhaps the money would be better spent encouraging enlivening people like Clifford Stoll into the classrooms.

How is this relevant to the homeschool? Oh it’s very applicable, in some cases we’ve pushed the limits further than schools have. In the near future I doubt technology will replace the teacher entirely in schools; however there are busy homeschooling parents who actively seek to replace their educational responsibilities with a computer screen. It’s commonplace to hear online classes and subscriptions listed as first choice curriculums. Sadder still to note that some families rely on these entirely.

No, technology in education isn’t bad. It’s how we use it that can be unwise and even dangerous. At the end of the day it is only a tool and a far inferior tool than a close relationship between teacher and student. If education is not the filling of a pail why do we endorse and use products that merely drip information into our children’s brains for them to acquire, ‘enjoy’ and interact with. If education truly is the lighting of a fire, we need to be right beside our children igniting their flames of curiosity and creativity.

And if you don’t know how, just watch Clifford Stoll – a man with overflowing passion and more enough inspiration to share around. An amazing man!

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7 responses to “Clifford Stoll & Computers in Education”

Agree 100% with you!! Though I do use technology more with my teens, it is not to replace books nor the teacher. I’m distressed when I hear of hsing parents who sign up their 4yr olds for online classes for all subjects

I like to think of it as a tool but not as a replacement. We do on and off use it, particular with son number 1. I’ve been thinking a lot about what he says about thinking. Kids like technology as it doesn’t require them to think as much as real school work. I think that’s so true. Technology makes work seems like fun. But as soon as the fun wears off they don’t want to do it anymore. I hear so many parents say technology is wonderful as it’s the only way they’ll get their kids to do the work – A bit like hiding their vegetables in their meal to make them eat it. Somethings wrong if we have to do that.

Wow. I’m exhausted, but thoroughly entertained, after just the first video. Wonder how he did in primary school? I’m sure he would have been a candidate for ADHD today. He really does seem like an amazing man. Will watch more. Thanks Tracey.

Oh he would definitely be drugged to the eyeballs if he was in school nowadays. And if he was at school nowadays, what would those ADHD drugs do to his brilliant mind?!
Interesting… if school was a jigsaw, and the teacher and classroom were the baseboard of that jigsaw, why do we always assume that the pieces/students are the wrong fit. Why can’t it be that they weren’t meant to fit in that jigsaw? Why do we continue shaving off their edges to jam them into the holes? Not going to make a pretty picture in the end and those pieces will be totally ruin for the picture they were meant to make in creation.
I hate labels that are put on kids. Please, never anyone call their child an ‘aspie’ in front of me. My heart breaks for that child every time.
Why do we all have to be the same? *Shaking head at the world.*

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About Me

I am a homeschooling mother of two boys, aged 14 and 12 years. We live in Australia and have never sent our children to school...except to visit with their Daddy, my Dh. He is a school teacher (as I was too, a long time ago).

"A house without books is like a room without windows. No man has a right to bring up his children without surrounding them with books, if he has the means to buy them. It is a wrong to his family. Children learn to read by being in the presence of books. The love of knowledge comes with reading and grows upon it. And the love of knowledge, in a young mind, is almost a warrant against the inferior excitement of passions and vices." ~Horace Mann